The "Sugarbush Thread"

[thetrailboss]

One quick note...NRX is on private land and does not touch USFS land (unless the very top of it touches the long trail easement). So not seeing any mention of it on the USFS site is not a surprise at all.

My understanding was that the latest "delay" was due to issues with the local land use authority (I think it was the Town of Fayston or the State).

 

[cdskier]

My understanding was that the latest "delay" was due to issues with the local land use authority (I think it was the Town of Fayston or the State).

I remember us discussing that back in the summer or fall? Some of us suspected that might just have been a comment thrown out to try to take the blame off Alterra as it would be extremely weird for either Fayston or the State to have an issue with a replacement of an existing lift on private land.

 

[Lotso]

I remember us discussing that back in the summer or fall? Some of us suspected that might just have been a comment thrown out to try to take the blame off Alterra as it would be extremely weird for either Fayston or the State to have an issue with a replacement of an existing lift on private land.

Agreed. I can't see any reason why Fayston would oppose NRX replacement. It's a company town (like the other Valley towns).

 

[NewEnglander77]

Spencer King did a great overview in the last "State of the Mountain" post (12/27): https://blog.sugarbush.com/mountain/state-of-the-mountain-12-27-24/

They had mentioned continuing this series weekly so we'll hopefully get an update soon.

Looks like they missed the update last week. A lot of work in process and no updates equals expect that not much progress has occured. More overpromise and underdeliver on the communication. Par for the course. I'm sure many would like to know about Sunny Q coming online. And yes, Castlerock was not mentioned at all.

 

[KustyTheKlown]

alterra mea culpas coast to coast

Operational Update: Jan 6, 2025

Happy New Year. We hope 2025 finds you healthy and happy, and that you are able to enjoy lots of mountain time and plenty of snow. For Solitude, as with...

blog.solitudemountain.com

 

[thetrailboss]

alterra mea culpas coast to coast

Operational Update: Jan 6, 2025

Happy New Year. We hope 2025 finds you healthy and happy, and that you are able to enjoy lots of mountain time and plenty of snow. For Solitude, as with...

blog.solitudemountain.com

I'm not a personal fan of Amber, but she was very transparent in that post. Solitude has been really slow to open terrain.

I have been hearing, and seeing, that Solitude has been really crowded for what little is open. Part of that is because they dropped all blackout restrictions for every tier of IKON pass.

 

[Tin Woodsman]

I guess with the inflation in cost for new lift installs, I'm not surprised that NRX is off the list. Hard to imagine that ~$10M for a lift at a hill they open for 3 months would pencil out. Peter from Lift Blog is pretty well connected to the lift OEMs, so if it's not on his list, that's solid intel. I wouldn't be surprised if they ultimately decide to try and refurbish an older machine from that is getting retired elsewhere in the Alterra network for closer to $2-4M instead. In saying that, I note that there are two mid-90s vintage Poma HSQs with the right size and horsepower that are getting retired at Snowmass in the next two years - Elk Camp and Alpine Springs. While Aspen SkiCo isn't owned by Alterra, they are deeply connected via common ownership and I suspect those lifts will be attractive assets.

 

[Newpylong]

The potential saving grace to NRX (and it would work out to huge savings) is they can likely re-use the towers. Since they are replacing the lift in kind and I haven't heard of any profile or construction issues when that lift went in, so assuming no other reason the tubes can't be reused. The concrete and steel should be fine.

 

[thetrailboss]

I guess with the inflation in cost for new lift installs, I'm not surprised that NRX is off the list. Hard to imagine that ~$10M for a lift at a hill they open for 3 months would pencil out. Peter from Lift Blog is pretty well connected to the lift OEMs, so if it's not on his list, that's solid intel. I wouldn't be surprised if they ultimately decide to try and refurbish an older machine from that is getting retired elsewhere in the Alterra network for closer to $2-4M instead. In saying that, I note that there are two mid-90s vintage Poma HSQs with the right size and horsepower that are getting retired at Snowmass in the next two years - Elk Camp and Alpine Springs. While Aspen SkiCo isn't owned by Alterra, they are deeply connected via common ownership and I suspect those lifts will be attractive assets.

AFAIK only Doppelmayr has a (limited) rebuild program. Limited in that they have only done it for Boyne. I am not aware of Poma-Leitner having any similar program. Poma can't even get enough help to install their new jobs on time.

 

[PowderDreams]

alterra mea culpas coast to coast

Operational Update: Jan 6, 2025

Happy New Year. We hope 2025 finds you healthy and happy, and that you are able to enjoy lots of mountain time and plenty of snow. For Solitude, as with...

blog.solitudemountain.com

The Utah Avalanche Center has been sounding the alarm on all available channels over the last 2 weeks, warning about how severe the current avalanche danger is, and will be for the foreseeable future. They’ve created several video demonstrations of how easily this snowpack will slide, that any untrained resort skier would be able to understand. For just one example:

Unfortunately, this is shaping up to be a very disappointing season for many UT ski areas. I’m not familiar enough with the area to know if Alterra could realistically do better at Solitude. One thing’s for certain, though: PCMR proves they could definitely be doing a lot worse.

I’m not in the mood to be giving Alterra the benefit of the doubt lately, but the weather is pretty far down on my list of grievances with them.

 

[KustyTheKlown]

oh ya, i know utah has had it rough. just thought it was interesting another alterra mountain is in the damage control comms game right now.

in the broadest strokes, we're in a la nina, which favors the northern latitudes. my pre-planned/paid trip was booked to banff/rev for this reason. seems like a good move.

 

[HowieT2]

oh ya, i know utah has had it rough. just thought it was interesting another alterra mountain is in the damage control comms game right now.

in the broadest strokes, we're in a la nina, which favors the northern latitudes. my pre-planned/paid trip was booked to banff/rev for this reason. seems like a good move.

But are we in a La Nina?
(The ENSO Region 1+2 anomaly was -0.2°C and the Region 3.4 anomaly was -1.1°C for the week centered around December 25. For the past six weeks, the ENSO Region 1+2 anomaly has averaged +0.10°C and the ENSO Region 3.4 anomaly has averaged -0.53°C. Neutral ENSO conditions may still evolve into a La Niña event during the winter. Uncertainty as to whether a La Niña will actually develop persists. On the December 19 outlook, 56% of dynamical models but 0% of the statistical models forecast the development of a La Niña. )

I'll be skiing Revy 2/11-13 if you're there then, DM me and let's make some turns. They had a terrible snow year last season and the skiing was good nonetheless.

The next several days look promising for SB. This weekend should be good with temps returning to reasonable.

 

[KustyTheKlown]

But are we in a La Nina?
(The ENSO Region 1+2 anomaly was -0.2°C and the Region 3.4 anomaly was -1.1°C for the week centered around December 25. For the past six weeks, the ENSO Region 1+2 anomaly has averaged +0.10°C and the ENSO Region 3.4 anomaly has averaged -0.53°C. Neutral ENSO conditions may still evolve into a La Niña event during the winter. Uncertainty as to whether a La Niña will actually develop persists. On the December 19 outlook, 56% of dynamical models but 0% of the statistical models forecast the development of a La Niña. )

I'll be skiing Revy 2/11-13 if you're there then, DM me and let's make some turns. They had a terrible snow year last season and the skiing was good nonetheless.

The next several days look promising for SB. This weekend should be good with temps returning to reasonable.

i'm after! fly 2/15, banff 2/16 - 21, revy 2/22-27, fly home 28
open to excursions within reason like maybe an a la carte day at kicking horse on my way to or from
my one trip to banff/rev was not in the best snow. ive skied kicking horse tits deep, and fernie. hoping to get the goods at rev this year.

 

[slatham]

It primary been a La Nada with some moves into weak La Niña territory.

 

[KustyTheKlown]

edit my comment to say that when i booked my trip in the summer, a la nina was heavily being predicted, so my regional bookings were done with that in mind

 

[Tin Woodsman]

AFAIK only Doppelmayr has a (limited) rebuild program. Limited in that they have only done it for Boyne. I am not aware of Poma-Leitner having any similar program. Poma can't even get enough help to install their new jobs on time.

Do we know who did the refurb on the Angel Express moving from Sunshine to Castle? That's a late 80's vintage Poma machine, so someone is out there taking on these jobs, and Angel Express is arguably harder than either of those Snowmass lifts given equipment type/age.

 

[thetrailboss]

Do we know who did the refurb on the Angel Express moving from Sunshine to Castle? That's a late 80's vintage Poma machine, so someone is out there taking on these jobs, and Angel Express is arguably harder than either of those Snowmass lifts given equipment type/age.

Just looked on LiftBlog and there is no answer that I can find. Your thought on Alterra getting a second-hand HSQ from Snowmass is interesting.

Castle Mountain Announces Haig 1 Expansion

Alberta’s Castle Mountain will expand lift-served terrain by 25 percent next season as it opens its first detachable quad on Haig Ridge, located above the existing Huckleberry lift. Castle is…

liftblog.com

Castle Mountain Plans First Detachable Quad

Canada’s second largest resort without a high speed lift plans to build one soon. Castle Mountain, located in Southwestern Alberta, today announced it has reached an agreement in principle to…

liftblog.com

 

[SurfMoon]

Lifts need to stay top priority, I have no surprise with the crowd crushes on main lifts each weekend when something goes down by 9-10AM each Sat/Sun.

But another of my main gripes have been towards the woods- there is some much needed attention to basic clearing of woods terrain and have been harping on it for a while. Multiple times each season- and this past weekend alone had to assist some skiers who should not have ventured into tight glades terrain find the narrow exits through tight glades. If you venture too far from certain exits you can get majorly stuck in waist deep evergreen. I don't ski many other hills but its night and day poking through the woods of hills that dedicate some time to their gladed areas.

Love my stashes, but would love to help clear them up over the summer months.

 

[Tin Woodsman]

Just looked on LiftBlog and there is no answer that I can find. Your thought on Alterra getting a second-hand HSQ from Snowmass is interesting.

Castle Mountain Announces Haig 1 Expansion

Alberta’s Castle Mountain will expand lift-served terrain by 25 percent next season as it opens its first detachable quad on Haig Ridge, located above the existing Huckleberry lift. Castle is…

liftblog.com

Castle Mountain Plans First Detachable Quad

Canada’s second largest resort without a high speed lift plans to build one soon. Castle Mountain, located in Southwestern Alberta, today announced it has reached an agreement in principle to…

liftblog.com

If not SB, I suspect those machines will find homes somewhere given their vintage and relatively low hours serving upper mountain pods.

 

[crystalmountainskier]

AFAIK only Doppelmayr has a (limited) rebuild program. Limited in that they have only done it for Boyne. I am not aware of Poma-Leitner having any similar program. Poma can't even get enough help to install their new jobs on time.

LPOA did two relocations this summer - Ski Lakeridge, Ontario and Hunter. One was a fixed grip. They have already agreed to do a relocation at Sunlight next summer.

They also did a better job than Dopp finishing on time this year.